Is God Enough of a Reason? or I'm Chubby

So of the many vocation struggles I have, one is my weight. I am not super-morbidly obese or anything, but I'm a bit heavy and could stand to lose some poundage. At least, this is what my vocation director says - and I know that he is right. I could be a bit more light-footed. (Certainly I am light-hearted enough, damn it.)

Gratuitous Picture of St. Martin De Porres
The Patron of the Southern Province

So, my question is, is God enough of a reason for me to lose weight? I have actually struggled with this more than I probably should have. One thing that has became clear for me is our universal call to holiness. (Yeah Vatican II!!) We are called to holiness no matter what state of life we are in. That holiness, that flighty temptress, is one of the hardest things to pursue that I can think of. And part of that is because holiness is all consuming. A few years ago I put together a retreat called, "In search of holiness," where we tried to come to some sort of grip with what holiness is or could be. We focused on the verse, "Then He said, "Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground," (Exodus 3:5). We talked about humility, fear of the Lord, and grace - and honestly when I reflect on that retreat I still couldn't tell you exactly what holiness is. And it was my freakin' retreat. Ha. What I'm getting at though, is even back then when I was trying to put the idea of vocation aside I still knew that I was called to holiness, even though I often fail. And it is with this heart that I pursue the idea of vocation now. I shouldn't be trying to get holy because I want to be a priest. I should be yearning for holiness because I hear the echo of my baptism. I should yearn for holiness because I desperately love God. I should yearn for holiness because I know it will bring me closer to my beloved. So why the hell wouldn't I try to be holy.

So back to the chubby thing - I struggle with weight loss because I for a long time I have thought that I had to do it for myself. It had to be a somewhat selfish endeavor, "You have to do it for yourself, you have to do it because you love yourself." There is some truth in this, you do need to love yourself. But is my call to holiness, my love of God (of other) enough? Can it be a motivating factor for me to pursue a healthier and holier life. YES, I say! God is enough of a reason. Letting God be my motivation, instead of myself, may actually be better. As the Jesuits say, "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam."  So my answer is a resounding and resonant yes. I can lose weight for Jesus, it's part of my universal call to holiness. So let the good times and the significant amount of fiber roll ... or whatever.

Shalom,

Joe

Help me make this song True, O God.

"When Holy Water was a rare at best, 

it barely wet my fingertips.

But now I have to hold my breath,

Like I'm swimming in a sea of it."